Babysitter
by Chocolatheque
Summary: this is older than the oldest of butts so stop asking me to finish it ahhh
1. Agreement

Babysitter

Summary: Pudding has enough trouble babysitting her five siblings. Now she has three homeless aliens to deal with. Lucky her. TxP, KxI, PxR

Author's notes:  
Hello, nyo! It's a new fic... which means I have decided to drop "Thirteen Days of Halloween". Throw things at me, hate me, I don't care. I just wasn't enjoying writing it anymore... I'm sorry. Please enjoy this fic. Note that it WILL get fluffier later on.

---

Chapter one: Agreement

Konnichi wa. I'm Fon Pudding, now 13 years old. My mother died when I was young, my father is in China, and I have four brothers and a sister. My brothers are now 8 years old and my sister is 7.

Three years ago, my team and I defeated the aliens Kisshu, Taruto, and Pai.

Three years ago... has it already been that long?

I let out a long sigh, then looked longingly out the window. How I had hoped he would come back!

My sister, Heicha, stood behind me, braiding my hair. I was her test subject.

"All done!" she announced, handing me my hair.

I observed the braids, then allowed my hair to tumble down my back. "It looks good, except your thirds of hair are uneven and it makes the braids look weird. Try again, na no da."

Heicha sighed and obliged, starting over. "So what were you thinking about?" she asked me, apparently having noticed my sigh.

"Just... him..." I muttered.

"Oh, Taruto-oniichan?"

"Yeah..."

Almost every night, I had sat by my window, hoping he would return. Almost every night, I would gaze into the stars, just praying that I could see him one more time.

Because I was in love with him.

Since then, there have been many boys that displayed an interest in me. Some were cute, some not so much. But nevertheless, I ignored them all. My heart will always belong to Taruto unless he turns me down.

Which he has yet to do.

A nice wind blew over my face and washed away some of my ache. Some days the ache wasn't so bad, but on others, it stung so hard I thought I would die.

Don't get me wrong. It's not like I'm full of angst now, just because I haven't seen someone in a while. I'm still a generally cheerful and hyper girl.

Just not today.

It was at this moment that I heard a tapping on the door downstairs. I jumped up and ran to answer it, in the process, undoing my poor sister's hard work (my braids).

I unlocked and cracked open the door a bit to see who was there. I was amazed to see none other than...

"Taruto, Kisshu, and Pai, na no da?" I asked incredulously.

I opened the door fully to make sure I wasn't just seeing things.

Nope, it was definitely them.

They had grown a little since the last time I saw them. Naturally, they were all taller. They all looked stronger too. Their hair was the same, except for Taruto's, who must have realized how girly the ponytails on his head looked and tied his hair in ponytails on the sides of his face, like Kisshu's.

Pai had his arms folded, Kisshu held his hands on his hips, and Taruto stood there idly, his hands dangling at his sides.

"H...Hi, Pudding-san..." Taruto began, being the first one to speak up.

"What are you guys doing here, na no da?" I asked slowly.

Pai spoke next. "We have been temporarily banned from our planet."

"For the next 5 years," Kisshu added cynically.

"What did you guys do that got you banned?" I questioned.

All three of them cast their eyes elsewhere, embarrassed.

"Er," Taruto said, "Well, it started with this soda machine..."

"And this goldfish..." Pai continued.

"And the rest is history!" Kisshu finished hurriedly.

I gave them weird stares. "So why did you guys come here?" If anything, I would have expected them to stop at the cafe.

Kisshu rubbed the back of his head. "Um... we need somewhere to live and we have no money. We asked Ichigo first, if we could live with her, and..."

"Show Pudding the mark on your foot from when Ichigo stomped on it!" Taruto prompted.

"No!" Kisshu exclaimed indignantly.

Pai cleared his throat loudly and everyone was quiet. He continued the story, "We asked Midorikawa-san if we could live with her, and she apologized several times that she didn't wish for us to stay. She fed us, then made us leave."

That was kinda weird. "What about Minto-oneechan, na no da?"

"When we asked Minto if we could stay with us, she slammed the door in our face," Kisshu replied, grimacing at the memory.

"And when we asked Zakuro, she stared at us with this strange face and made Kisshu cry," Taruto finished.

"Well, she was scary!" Kisshu defended himself.

"Anyway, we were kinda hoping you'd let us stay with you..." Taruto said shyly.

I rubbed my chin in thought. I was generally okay with the proposition, except that I might not make enough money to feed us all. "Alright. But you all have to get jobs and make some kind of income. And I set the standard in this house. Is that good, na no da?"

The three exchanged glances, then nodded unanimously. "It's agreed," they said.

"YAY, NA NO DA!" I initiated a group glomp.

So the deal was made. The aliens would live with me, and I was their babysitter.

Some crazy stuff was bound to occur.

---

NOTES:  
Oniichan: Big brother. Can also refer to a male you're close to. Sometimes "cute" anime characters will call people older than them oniichan or oneechan (big sister) to be cute, even if they hardly know the person. Can also be "oniisama," which is just more respectful.  
Oneechan: Big sister. See definition above.


	2. Rules and Weird Food

Chapter two: Rules and Weird Food

Author's note:  
The title of this chapter is scary. Yay for scary!  
By the way, go serach for cruelfeline and read everything she's ever written. Why? Because I told you so. GO FORTH.

---

I wasn't expecting her to say yes. Although, she always has been very friendly.

I'm Taruto, 13 years old. As you have heard, me and my comrads have been banned from our planet. Even worse, we were rejected by four of the five only people we know on earth (except Shirogane Ryou and Akasaka Keiichiro, but we sure as heck aren't living with them.)

So in our desperation, we turned to Fon Pudding. I have to admit, it was pretty nice to see her again. She's grown a lot. When she answered the door, I had to fight down a blush from seeing her. She was still in her pajamas (which are strangely cute) and her hair was half braided. It now came down past her shoulder blades. It was a bit wavey. She now had soft curves too... but I don't wanna talk about that.

Pudding-san has allowed us to live with her. That's cool, right? Well, mostly. We have to work. And we have to follow any and all of the crazy rules she might come up with.

Today is the day she announces some basic house rules.

"Please gather around and listen closely!" she announced, pointing to the chalk board she had pulled out. "These are rules I want you to follow! For every rule you break, there WILL be a consequence! RULE NUMBER ONE! No using your powers unless you are in dire trouble!"

"Aww, how come?" Kisshu whined.

"Because I said so, na no da!" Pudding replied simply. "The consequence to breaking this rule is a good spanking!" At this, she held up a large paddle. Kisshu, Pai, and I all whimpered simultaneously.

"Rule number two!" she continued. "Be nice to my brothers and sister! The consequence to breaking this rule will be carried out by my siblings themselves, who may do anything from sticking crayons up your noses, to tugging on your ears and singing 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' off key!"

Pai shuddered.

"Rule number three! Do not damage any of my property! The consequence is..." Pudding smirked and held up an extra waitress costume, presumably from Cafe Mew Mew. "You must wear this all day, na no da."

Me and my friends gasped.

"That's cruel and unusual punishment!" I screamed. "But mostly unusual!"

"I know," she giggled. "That's why I'm using it as a punishment."

She put the costume away and continued with her list. "Rule number four... no messing around with me. You mess with me and my emotions, you'll find yourself in an excruciating amount of pain, na no da."

She glared hard at us, then quickly reverted to her previous perky state.

"Rule number five! You all have to go to school like normal people!"

Pai instantly protested. "Why? I am in no need of basic human education."

Pudding stared at him and said, "Do you know what 'catch you on the flip side' means?"

Pai tilted his head, indicating he didn't have a clue as to what she was talking about.

"Do you know what a shower cutain is?"

Pai shrugged.

"Then you need to go to school. You might be smart, but you don't know anything about human culture."

Pai sulked and remained quiet. Pudding grinned at his submission.

"That's all of the basic rules. More may be added at any time." We sighed. "You are now dismissed!"

Right on cue, Kisshu's stomach growled. "I'm starving," he commented weakly.

"Kitchen's that way," Pudding informed him.

He hopped up and ran in the direction she pointed out to him. Pai followed suit. I was a little more hesitant to join them.

"How long has it been since you guys last ate?" Pudding asked me.

"About... a week or so," I replied.

She gasped sharply and seized my hand. "Then you must eat right away!" she prompted, tugging me into the kitchen.

---

"Go ahead and eat, you guys," she proclaimed after providing each of us with a meal consisting of onigiri, yakizakana, tempura, and green tea.

"Itadakimasu," Pai, Kisshu, and I all said, bowing our heads in thanks.

Before leaving us alone to eat, Pudding told us to call her if we needed anything.

---

NOTES:  
Onigiri: Rice balls of cooked rice, usually wrapped with nori seaweed. Salted, often contain additional food in the middle, such as fish or apricots.  
Yakizakana: Grilled fish.  
Tempura: Seafood, vegetables, and other kinds of food, deep fried.  
Itadakimasu: Literally means "I receive this food." A phrase which gives thanks to the person who prepared the meal.


	3. Clothes Panic

Chapter three: Clothes Panic

Author's notes:  
My butt is so sore. I need to go play DDR.

---

Pudding entered the kitchen after having disappeared for a few minutes. She had changed her pajamas, most likely because the other ones she was wearing were too thin for her liking.

I'm Kisshu, 17 years old. I'm the handsome alien with the truckloads of fangirls, who like to violently attack Masaya fans. What? It's not like I told them to do that or anything.

Though I might have implied it.

Now I'm living in a 13 year old monkey girl's house with the only two close friends I have in the universe.

Pai. I glaced at him. He was still daintily picking up little wimpy bites of food with his fork. He's kind of... 'fruity-tooty' at times, if you know what I mean.

Taruto. I glanced at him too. Like me, he had scarfed down his dinner in a timely manner. And he looked like he wanted more, but was too shy to ask for more.

And of course, Pudding our new soul keeper. Okay, so she's not a soul keeper. But it surely would feel like that over time, I predicted. I knew she'd think up new, wackier rules, and even more wacky consequences for them.

"Kisshu and Taru-Taru are done already, na no da?" she speculated.

"Yep," I confirmed, grabbing my plate and heading for the sink.

"Anou... thanks for the food, Pudding-san..." Taruto murmured quietly.

I would have teased him for being so shy towards Pudding, but I wasn't in the mood. Too tired and full.

"No problem, Taru-Taru!" Pudding replied cheerily. "My sisters and brothers are already in bed, so everyone try to be quiet, ne?"

Pai and Taruto acknowledged her with a nod. I simply grunted. "Where will we sleep?"

Pudding stood in thought for a moment, then indicated for us to follow her. "Let's go, I'll give you a tour of the house, then we'll decide where you can all sleep."

Taruto and I obeyed and stood behind her, while Pai reluctantly put his plate away (gosh, he eats so slow!).

"Okay, let's go!"

We walked all of five steps, and she stopped. "This is the family room, na no da."

She continued along, and the tour only lasted about three minutes. Her house wasn't really that big.

"Aha, here we go, na no da," she announced. "The guest room! Only two of you can sleep here, though. There are only two beds. Unless one of you doesn't mind sharing with another."

All three of us protested simultaneously.

"Okay. One of you can sleep on the couch in the family room, na no da! But the question is, who sleeps in here, and who sleeps out there?"

Pai folded his arms. "I am not sharing a room with Kisshu and that is final. He snores like a wild animal."

"I DO NOT!" I shouted indignantly.

"You do so."

"You know, Pai's right, Kisshu..."

"You stay out of this, Taruto!"

"QUIET NA NO DA!"

We stopped our bickering, and turned to Pudding.

"I say Kisshu sleeps in here with Taru-Taru, and Pai sleeps in the family room where it's nice and quiet, na no da."

"Okay," Pai agreed.

"Fine," I nodded.

"That works," Taruto said.

"Then it's all settled. I'm going to go get ready for bed, and I suggest you all do the same."

"What are we supposed to do?" I questioned.

"You need to brush and floss your teeth, rinse with water, brush your hair, change your clothes, and then I'll come and read a bedtime story, na no da!"

Pai grimaced. "Can we nix the story?"

"...If we must."

"But," I began again, "we don't have a change of clothes!"

Pudding stared incredulously at me. "NONE?"

"Uh... no."

"What's wrong with you, na no da?" she squeaked. "Are you crazies? You're moving to a new planet without any money and you don't have the common sense to bring a change of clothes?"

Pai spoke up. "Actually, I brought clothes for myself."

"Shut up, Pai," I muttered.

"I'd let you borrow clothes, no da... but..." her voice trailed off, what she was about to very obvious. "Well, I can't let you sleep in your day clothes either!" ((even though I do that all the time...))

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Taruto asked.

"We have no choice but to go shopping, na no da!" she declared dramatically. "I have to go change AGAIN, now, though, so please wait a minute."

"Oh boy, shopping," I said sarcastically.

"And I don't have to go," Pai reminded, grabbing some of his spare clothes and heading for the bathroom (most likely to change).

"Pai, sometimes I don't like you very much," I growled.


	4. Shopping Time

Chapter four: Shopping Time

Author's notes: Food...! So hungry... can't go on...

---

"So where do we start?"

"NOT in JC Penny. Anywhere but there."

"Or Victoria's Secret."

"Or any other girl store."

Pudding ignored the two aliens who were following her, trying to decide where to purchase clothing for them.

"How about we just hit the mall, na no da?" she suggested.

"Too many teenage girls there," Taruto stated. "They'd all scream and freak out over our pointy ears and pale...ness."

"Maybe for you, but they'd be screaming about my good looks," Kisshu corrected, grinning smugly.

Taruto frowned and smacked Kisshu over the head. "Baka."

Pudding giggled at their banter, and pointed to a small store. "How about there? Looks pretty empty to me."

The two boys nodded and followed her in.

The door jingled as the opened it, and a warm, nostalgic smell seeped out. An elderly lady behind the counter top greeted them (Pudding thought it strange that she didn't show any emotion towards Kisshu and Taruto's appearance, but didn't pursue the thought). "Welcome to my store. Please look around."

Pudding smiled in response, then began to browse about.

"Let's see..." she said. "First, let's find you two school outfits."

"Pai, too," Kisshu chirped. "He might have normal clothes, but we all know he doesn't own school clothes."

The lady nodded to the end of the store and said, "Boy's school clothes are in the back."

"Arigatou." Pudding bowed courteously and dragged Kisshu and Taruto in the direction the woman pointed.

---

After a mere few minutes, Taruto and Kisshu had accumulated a neat little pile of clothes, which Pudding had made them carry. Half of the time, neither Kisshu nor Taruto got any comment in edgewise for the clothes Pudding was randomly pulling off of the racks. Eventually, they stopped trying and just accepted what she flung their way.

"Go try these on," she commanded, pointing to the changing rooms.

Kisshu and Taruto obeyed. A sudden shrill scream was heard a moment later, and Pudding rolled her eyes in bemusement.

"Those are the girls' dressing rooms. Other way."

"Gomennasai!"

---

"Um, Pudding?"

"Hm?"

"I have a question."

"Go ahead, na no da."

"WHY DID YOU GIVE ME A GIRL'S SKIRT TO TRY ON?"

A very miffed Kisshu stepped out of the dressing room. He was clothed in a black gakuran shirt, but a red school girl's skirt which served for a comical contrast. Not to mention that it was a very short skirt.

Pudding burst in a fit of giggles, and even the lady behind the counter appeared to be suppressing laughter, which only caused Kisshu's anger to rise.

"It's NOT funny!" he whined, like a child who wasn't getting their way.

Pudding only laughed harder and said, "How could you put on a skirt without even realizing it was a skirt until you were done dressing?"

"I was buried under the massive pile of clothes you made me hold!" Kisshu whimpered again.

"Gomen ne, Kisshu," Pudding apologized, her giggles dying down, but the smile still firmly in place. "I didn't do it on purpose. That's actually mine."

She handed him the gakuran bottoms that went with the shirt he was wearing, and apologized again. "Here you go, go change into these. And what about you, Taruto? Come out here and let me see you."

After a short pause, Taruto made an uncomfortable sound and walked slowly out from the depths of the dressing room, knowing that if he didn't come out, Pudding would go in there and get him, and he certainly didn't want that.

He felt heat rise to his face, and a pesky blush painted itself across his face. He rather didn't like wearing anything other than his usual ensemble. It made him feel uncomfortable.

Pudding smiled in approval, and unexpectedly glomped him. "Kyaaaa, you look so cute, Taru-Taru!"

If Taruto had found the previous heat in his face obnoxious, then the current heat that took it's place was like someone screaming something random into your ear while playing the cymbals as loud as humanly possible. He was too embarrassed to struggle against her grasp, or even find a protest in his throat.

"Awww, cute," Kisshu commented, grinning. He had changed into the pants Pudding gave him, and seemed to be glad to not be wearing girls' clothing.

The redness in Taruto's face continued to deepen into reds that Pudding and Kisshu didn't even know exist.

Pudding allowed him to go free then told the boys to change back into their normal clothes so she could pay for the new ones they had collected.

And thus, the shopping trip of horrors ended, and the threesome went home and to bed, only to wake up to a new day of awkward occurrences.

---

NOTES:  
Gakuran: Boys' school uniform  
Gomennasai: I'm sorry  
Gomen ne: Shorter version of gomennasai. More like "Sorry".  
Kya: Standard shoujo scream.


	5. Oyasumi

Chapter five: Oyasumi

Author's notes: Nyargh, sorry I take so long to update... anyway, mucho amor to those who reviewed! Especially cruelfeline, who is way beyond awesome (insert happiness here).

Anyway... the last few chapters were... subpar, at best. Somehow, they sounded good before I uploaded them... but anyway, I'm going to try my best from now on, which may or may not mean updates will be slower, but the writing ought to be better.

So... yeah. Read. Review. Pretty please.

---

The sight of Pudding's house finally came into view, and the two aliens allowed sighs of relief to escape as they trudged down the sidewalk with large bags in either hand. Pudding also held large bags in her arms, but walked with far more energy and excitement than the boys that followed her.

Somehow, she managed to get her front door open, even with her hands full, and once everyone was inside, she closed the door daintily with her foot and flipped on a light at the same time, all of which seemed rather rehearsed.

---

I'm Pai, currently 19 years of age. As you know, I am residing with Fon Pudding and my two younger companions, Kisshu and Taruto.

While I appreciate the girl's hospitality, I'm honestly uncomfortable living with her at present. Kisshu seems to have adapted without trouble, and I know Taruto is enjoying himself, no matter how much he pretends to dislike her, but the last time we were on earth we had just barely reconciled with the human kind. It was like suddenly being intimate with an old enemy.

I heard the front door slam closed, followed by chatter, so I resolved to go see if assistance was needed. Taruto and Kisshu were more than happy to drop some of their burdens onto me and these bags were then carried to the twosome's temporary residence to be sorted.

The contents of the bags were dumped unceremoniously onto one of the beds (to whom it belonged was not specified at that time). Pudding then began making piles of clothes for each of us, herself included.

"Here are the school uniforms!" she announced eagerly. "Pai-kun!"

I was handed a pair of black jeans, accompanied by a white, long sleeved shirt, as well as a blue tie. Not of my taste, but it wasn't as bad as I feared either.

"Kisshu-kun!"

She tossed a black gakuran at him, complete with the golden buttons. I subconsciously decided that it would look good on him.

"And Taru-Taru!"

Taruto also received a white, long sleeved shirt, but it had a sweater shirt with a blue collar on top of it. He was also to wear grey jeans with it, those of which were rather baggy.

Next, she held up her own uniform. It was predominately a deep red color, with a pink plaid skirt that stopped above the knees. It was "cute", if you excuse me using that word, to say the least.

The rest of the clothes we were presented with were nothing out of the ordinary nor are they worth getting into details of, so I'll stop the clothes description here.

---

I decided to retreat to the couch for the night, but listened to the others' chitchat as I stared at the ceiling.

"So there's a hair brush, and a tooth brush... do we have to brush anything else?"

"Uhh..."

"Oh, never mind."

"Ne, Pudding-san, do I dress in the closet?"

"Why would you dress in the closet, na no da?"

"Because you're all in the bathroom and I'm not changing in the kitchen!"

"..."

I permitted myself an inward grin. While I wasn't completely eager to be under the rule of a thirteen year old monkey, it certainly wasn't going to be a dull life. I mused over the fact that I was to participate in a school, that I was going to have to get a normal job. I was going to be just like a normal human being. I started to think to myself...

'Even as a child, I never lived a particularly normal life. Everyday was watching my kind suffer in silence, without the slightest ability to do anything. All I knew was that it was the fault of humans, and for that, I hated them. That was all I knew of the humans...

'As I grew older, I knew I'd finally be able to do something. I could make a difference. I made a leap at the opportunity to come to earth and destroy those I detested so. But it turned out that they were not much different than us...

'True, some of them were awful and wicked, but others still were compassionate and went to extreme distances to make sure those around them were happy. It was no different amongst our kind.

'I tried my hardest to be blind to this fact. I told myself time and time again that our race was superior. Our race was worthy. That these humans were all waste, worthless and selfish. But I knew deep down that that wasn't the case.

'In the end, I risked my own life for that of others, knowing I was at fault. And in return, we received what was left of the Mew Aqua and now our planet was beautiful and prosperous...

Now that's all down the drain, since we've been banned.

Once again, we've been shown compassion by a human. Pudding-san, who accepted us into her domicile despite the fact that it inconveniences herself.'

So I was to be like those whom I used to hold so much hatred for.

It didn't seem like such a big thing to me now.

In fact...

I was almost looking forward to it. I was getting a chance for the first time in years to be normal.

My train of thought was promptly broken by a small shriek of laughter.

"Kisshu, what are you doing? Scrunchies aren't for boys!" More laughter, this time from both Pudding and Taruto.

"Well, how should I know? Human accessories are weird anyway!"

I grinned inwardly once more. Yes. It was certainly going to be an interesting life.

Then slowly, sleep forced itself onto me and I drifted into a peaceful state of unconsciousness.

---

NOTES:  
Oyasumi: Good night

Sankyuu for reading... reviews make my world go round. I'm actually happy with this chapter, so I'd love feedback! Ja, ne.

---


	6. Naivety

Chapter six: Naivety

Author's notes: Nyau, sorry for the long wait in update... almost all of my semester exams were this previous week (not to mention I've got more this week...) and they totally kicked my sorry butt... fortunately, I did pretty well on most of them. (sweatdrop) But still... it sure eats up my time and energy. And can you believe it? I went to bed at, like 1:30 AM last night. Actually, it was technically today, but whatev. X3 Anyway, thanks to everyone who reads and reviews this! A few review replies are at the bottom.

---

It was morning. Small rays of sunshine peered through Pudding's curtains and pooled all over her face. She brushed at it a few times as if it was a tangible object that she could push away, then slowly came to consciousness and realized she couldn't.

She sat up, stretched, and yawned daintily, then hopped out of bed. She slipped her cold toes into the warmth of her slippers and trudged down the stairs to start making breakfast for her siblings and new guests.

She poked her blonde head into the room where Kisshu and Taruto currently resided and saw that Kisshu was still fast asleep ('He DOES snore,' Pudding noticed with a small giggle), but Taruto's bed was empty. She continued along on her journey to the kitchen and on the way, passed the living room. She saw that Pai was currently fighting drowsiness to wake up. Pudding cheerfully greeted him and continued on.

'I wonder where Taru-Taru is,' she wondered to herself, abesently-mindedly placing a pan onto the stove, staring out the window.

She turned the stove on and turned on her heel to get some eggs out of the fridge when she noticed Taruto sitting at the table, watching her (although when she looked at him, he quickly diverted his eyes).

"Taru-Taru, how long have you been sitting there?" she asked, surprised she was sleepy enough to miss him there.

He shifted around in his seat uncomfortably and dared to make eye contact with her again.

"I woke up early this morning and couldn't go back to sleep... so I came out here to wait for y-... someone else to wake up." He was grateful he was able to catch himself in the act of saying "you".

Pudding smiled her regular smile at him then began to root through the fridge for eggs. "What woke you up?" she asked with half of her body seemingly eaten by the enormous appliance.

Taruto's answer was delayed by a few seconds, but then he answered quietly, "I... had a bad dream."

Pudding retrieved herself from the fridge and looked at him sympathetically. "What about, no da?"

The young boy in question cast his eyes down to his lap and mused fretfully over telling her. Pudding continued making breakfast but kept a concerned eye on him.

"You don't have to say if you don't want to," she assured, in an almost motherly fashion.

Taruto smiled at her. "...I'll tell you someday."

She smiled again. "I'd like that."

There was a silence after that, but there was something strangely comforting about it.

Little did the two know that someone was watching them converse. The watcher was Pai, and he didn't have any very strong opinions on the two's conversation, nor did he have any on the relationship he was certain they were eventually going to form. He was simply curious.

He wasn't sure why he was curious. Perhaps he was intrigued by his young comrade being so painfully out of character. Perhaps he was only bored and he was watching them because he had nothing better to do with himself.

Or...

Perhaps...

Deep down he knew why he was watching them. The first reason was because Taruto and Pudding had such a naive, innocent bond. A bond so precious and strong, a bond like no other. The second reason, and Pai tried to deny this reason considerably harder than the first one, was because he was jealous. Pai had never really had a chance to experience such a feeling. In order to carry out the duty he was previously entitled to, he wasn't allowed to let emotion get the better of him. Now he was free to do as he pleased, but he was clueless as to how to go about using these feelings.

Not...

Not like he wanted to or anything...

No, because that'd be simply ridiculous, right?

I mean, after all, he'd start acting like some fool, and he certainly didn't need any of that.

That was just stupid.

Right?

Besides, who needs emotions taking over one's better judgement when you have a perfectly good mind in function? That's just silly.

...Right?

---

'Nnnuaugh... what time is it?' were Kisshu's first thoughts when he rolled out of bed. The smell of eggs and pancakes cooking were what woke him up, but the bright sun was what made him want to go back to sleep.

He glanced at a clock that was by his bed. The numbers were slightly blurred, since his eyes hadn't completely woken up yet either, but he was able to make out the numbers: '8:24'. Not nearly as late as he had assumed. He glanced at the dresser where all of his new clothes were tucked away and mused over changing, but then decided to do so after breakfast.

Hardly watching where he was going, he walked down the stairs and made his way to the kitchen, solely following his nose and what little vision he owned at the moment. Suddenly, he noticed Pai standing outside the kitchen, arms folded and eyes closed, assumably deep in thought. This piked Kisshu's ever-active curiosity, and he couldn't help but wonder what his lavender-haired friend was thinking.

"Ne, Pai... what are you doing?"

Pai opened one eye and stared at Kisshu through it, apparently without intention of answering his question.

"C'mon, tell me."

No answer. He simply closed the one eye that was open.

"If you don't tell me..."

"You'll do what?" Pai interrupted, not moving a muscle.

"I'll poke you."

"..." Pai was obviously not fazed.

"Poke." Kisshu did as his words implied and poked the older alien in the arm.

"Poke, poke, poke, poke."

He watched Pai's expression closely to see if he was having even the slightest effect. The seventeen year old nuisance imagined he saw his friend's eyebrow twitch but nothing more.

"Poke, poke, poke, poke, poke, poke, poke, poke, poke..." This was repeated a few dozen more times until Pai's fuse was finally worn down, which was followed by him glaring icily at Kisshu and growling, not that much unlike an exasperated dog that threatened to bite one's hand.

Kisshu stopped, grinning victoriously. His goal had been reached: make Pai pay attention to him. Now that that was done with, he proceeded into the kitchen. All that poking made him hungry. Pai hesitantly followed.

---

More author's notes: Yay, another chapter, and I made it! XD It's a little bit short, like the others. Will try to keep stuff longer in the future...  
The next chapter will FINALLY get Retasu involved... Ichigo comes a chapter or two after. Hehe. Time to acknowledge a couple of reviewers, and I REFUSE to use the reply button on reviews because I think the reply button is evil. You like, send a reply, then the person gets it and they're all, "Oh, okay! Now I'm going to reply!" but then it's all "YOU CAN'T REPLY HAHA" so yeah. Please note that I'm only replying to stuff that needs my attention, so don't feel like I didn't reply to your review because I don't like it/you because that's most likely not the case.

gatomon62, Um, I will in the future.  
cruelfeline, You're awesome. You know that, right? X3  
Liz-Sakura, Exactly. You're supposed to GUESS who's saying what! XD That's what makes it funny! XD  
darksas, Because it's entertaining. D

And that's all! Please review! (falls asleep)


	7. An Awkward Feeling

Author's notes: Yo, wassup. Another chapter, yayyy! (waves a little flag) So sorry for taking so horridly long to update. It's been a bad (several) weeks for writing. xP And it's obvious, since this chapter's so badly written...  
Real quick, I'd like to correct what I said in the last chapter. The stuff at the bottom wasn't technically review replies. I just wanted to answer some questions/explain stuff to reviewers who didn't get something. (and I also like to acknowledge awesome reviews. :3) Anyway... just so no one gets the wrong idea and reports me... which would... suck. Yes. Don't do it.  
Also, please go post on my forums. (points to my profile) Just go into my profile and click the link that says "forums". Kthxluvyabye!

Oh, and I don't think I've done a disclaimer for the whole fic! So here it is!  
I DO NOT OWN TOKYO MEW MEW. If I owned Tokyo Mew Mew, the alien boys would have gotten half the series all to themselves, Aoyama woud have gotten decapitated by a plate in the first episode, Ichigo and Kish would have totally ended up together, as well as Pai and Retasu, and Pudding would have given Taruto many, many glomps. X3

---

"Mou! How could I have slept in?"

Woosh, down the street the young monkey girl ran. The poor thing had stayed up late, trying to explain to her siblings why "funny looking, pointy eared old guys" were going to be living with them. It wasn't nearly as easy as she hoped it would be.

"Ohhhh, Shirogane-oniichan will freak out at me if I'm late... what if he deducts my pay? That's the last thing I need right now, providing for 5 siblings and 3 aliens..."

Pudding's worried lines of thought halted for a moment as she burst through the cafe doors and darted for the front counter, where the aforementioned blonde haired boss currently lingered.

"I'm so sorry I'm late, Shirogane-oniichan..." she began to apologize, gasping for air.

He raised a skeptical eyebrow and looked at her questioningly. "What are you talking about? You're right on time. Ichigo's not even here yet."

Pudding stared at him, surprised. She had been so certain she was late... "Really?"

"Yes, really," he assured.

She let out a sigh of relief. At least she wouldn't have any pay deducted.

"Mou... I'm going to go get changed into my uniform," she announced, subconsciously stroking her scattered hair. Right at that moment, Ichigo popped into the cafe, almost completely reenacting what Pudding had done previously.

"Sorry I'm late!" the tardy cat girl said, approaching Ryou with apology spelling itself in her large, brown eyes.

The older boy flicked her on the nose unsympathetically, which seemed to be his latest hobby. "Baka strawberry! You're late!"

Ichigo instantly began ranting in protest, telling him how mean and rude and sarcatic he was, all traces of her being "sorry" completely and utterly gone. Pudding was familiar with this conversation, so she didn't bother to eavesdrop and disappeared into the dressing room. Then, suddenly, a clock on the wall caught her eye. It was 8:27! Twenty-seven minutes PAST the time she was supposed to arrive. And she had only been at the cafe for a few minutes!

"Shirogane-oniichan let me off easy..." she said to herself, wondering all the while 'why'.

And also wondering why poor Ichigo didn't get the same treatment.

---

After a few hours of vigorous work, scrambling about to assist impatient customers, and cleaning up broken dishes, the girls were completely exhausted.

"I ache in places I didn't know could ache..." Ichigo whined, pouring herself all over the table.

Minto sat across from the tired cat girl, sipping her tea as usual, with an aristocratic glint in her eye. "You're overreacting. Anyway, our work day is only halfway done, so buck up."

Ichigo only whimpered in reply.

As if on cue, Ryou passed by and announced that the girls could go on break. This news was received with a couple of weak grunts that were supposed to be cheers.

"I'm with Ichigo-oneechan, I'm beat," Pudding agreed, also resting her head on the table.

"That's surprising," Retasu commented quietly, "because you're usually more energetic than us, Pudding-san. Is something wrong?"

Pudding shook her head and said, "The aliens have been living with me and my siblings, and I think some of my siblings are having trouble adjusting."

"You let the aliens live with you?" Ichigo, Retasu, and Minto all asked in unison. Zakuro did not speak a word, but also watched Pudding with curiousity and surprise.

"Of course I did, na no da. They had no where else to go, and none of you were any assistance to them..."

Ichigo and Minto seemed indifferent, but Retasu cast her eyes down guiltily.

"I... I would have taken them in if I could, but my family wouldn't have understood, and... I... it would be hard for me to take care of them because I'm so shy..."

"Oh, don't worry about it, Retasu-oneechan. At least you have a good reason." Here, Pudding looked at Ichigo, Minto, and Zakuro with an expression that expected more explanations.

Ichigo was next to start protesting. "You KNOW Kisshu would have given me problems! Plus, my dad would have freaked!"

Pudding accepted this as a valid excuse. Mr. Momomiya became very scary whenever Ichigo brought a boy into the house.

Her gaze adverted itself to Minto.

"I simply am NOT providing those ruffians. And besides, Miki doesn't like strange boys."

This defense seemed a lot less agreeable than the others, but Pudding didn't push. She knew Minto wouldn't budge if she did. And Zakuro, Pudding didn't expect anything out of. Nothing at all. Zakuro only talked when it suited her.

The youngest mew mew then sighed. It was a tiresome lot, but she would just have to grin and bear it.

"So, Pudding-san, what do you plan on doing for money?" Retasu asked, hoping there was some way she could help.

"I can't take on any more tasks. The aliens have to get jobs themselves."

"Oh! I see. Have they found anything?"

"Absolutely nothing. Although they haven't started looking yet."

After a moment of silent brainstorming, an idea popped into the porpoise girl's head. "I know! You could ask Shirogane-san if one of them can work here at the cafe. He's been saying we could use one more employee."

Pudding thought for a moment. "Well... I know Pai wouldn't touch this cafe with a 10 foot pole... Kisshu doesn't like to cook or clean... but Taru-Taru might work..."

"Wait a minute," Minto contradicted, "what about his ears?"

"We could tell customers he's a cosplayer," Ichigo suggested, the prospect of having more help around being an eagerly accepted one.

Minto tilted her head side to side, shrugging. "Well, I guess, but would Shirogane even agree to this?"

"Agree to what?"

Once again, the blonde boy seemed to always pop in right on time, as if he could hear what they were saying all the time (which was a very possible thing, seeing as he had a hand in the construction of the cafe).

"Shirogane-oniichan, I wanted to ask you if Taru-Taru could work here, because we really need the income, and the aliens are going to have trouble finding jobs, and I don't know if I can-"

Ryou placed a finger on the girl's mouth for fear she would run out of air from talking so fast.

"Calm down, Pudding. It's fine. But if he causes any problems... well, you know."

Pudding didn't know precisely what he meant, but she could sure imagine. Scary thoughts.

"Don't worry, Shirogane-oniichan! I'm sure Taru-Taru will be happy to work here."

---

"CAFE MEW MEW? You're going to make me work at CAFE MEW MEW? You've got to be kidding." The brown haired boy looked disbelievingly at Pudding, like a child who had just been informed he was being sent to boot camp.

"It's not that bad, Taru-Taru! I mean, all you have to do is a few easy chores here and there, like maybe prepare some food, bring stuff to customers-"

"No, it's not that," Taruto interrupted. "It's just... well, there's so many girls there, and it's kind of embarrassing to work at a place like that..."

Pudding smiled and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder which immediately inspired a blush to cross his face. "Don't be so shy, Taru-Taru. Shirogane and Akasaka-oniichan are boys too, so you won't be the only one. And if you need help, I'll be there for you."

Taruto reasoned with these things in his head and decided that is probably was the best job he'd be capable of getting in the end. "Alright..."

"Anyway," Pudding continued, shedding her jacket onto a rack, having just gotten home from work with Retasu, "how did my brothers and sister behave for you guys while I was gonoe? And where are Kisshu and Pai?"

"Well... I think Pai is in the kitchen trying to cook dinner, and Kisshu is in the hall playing with the kids." He pointed in the direction of the hall he was referring to.

"Okay, I'm going to go check on my siblings, then. Retasu-oneechan, could you please go check on Pai and make sure he's not making a mess?"

Retasu nodded and headed off to the kitchen. Taruto followed Pudding and asked, "What's the fish girl here for?"

"Retasu-oneechan was actually here to make dinner herself, but I guess now Pai's going to be helping," Pudding answered.

She then suddenly gasped at the sight of Kisshu all wrapped up in toilet paper like a mummy. "Kisshu, what happened?" she exclaimed, rushing in to rescue him from her siblings, who were dancing around the poor boy.

"There were... too many of them..." he answered with a bewildered look, as Pudding ripped off the paper.

"There are only five of them Kisshu."

"Too many," he stated again, "too many..."

Pudding sighed and disposed of the paper. "Alright, no more babysitting duty for you, then, na no da. I'll leave it to Pai... speaking of which, I wonder how dinner is coming..."

---

"Pai-san?" Retasu popped her head into the kitchen and saw Pai trying to decipher a cook book recipe.

The older boy looked up at her and wore a look of slight surprise, but seemed to be surpressing it.

"Hello, Midorikawa-san..." he greeted slowly, prying his eyes away from hers.

"D... do you need some help?" she stuttered, her shy nature taking hold. "I... can help you make lunch... if you like."

"I could use the help," he admitted, "seeing as I don't even know how human measurements work."

Retasu let out a faint giggle and assumed a spot over his shoulder, reading the recipe.

"If you could please find a pan, I'll start getting the ingredients," she directed.

So the two set themselves to work, preparing a meal for ten people. Not nearly as easy as it sounds. And though they were seemingly wrapped up in the task at hand, both had a slight difficulty concentrating... why was that?

Because they kept finding each other staring at one another. It made the atmosphere awkward, so not a lot was said between the two, which only made it more awkward.

'I need to stop this... I'm just shy because he's a guy... and he's older... and he used to be my enemy... right?'

'This is idiotic. She's just a human girl. There's no need for me to get so flustered...'

Yet the awkwardness did not cease, and neither of the two could convince themselves that there was no important reason it was that way.

'I hate being so shy...'

'Darn these stupid emotions...'

---

More author's notes: Okay, yay! It's done, again, I'm really sorry for taking so long. XP Here are a couple of reviewer... 'acknowledgments' :3  
cruelfeline (GO READ HER FICS. NOW).  
Yokie: Sou, it's a RetasuxPai pairing, in case you haven't guessed by this chapter. XD  
PURINxoxoROX: I do plan on involving Ichigo and Retasu more later on, but not really the other mew mews.  
And thanks to everyone who reviewed! DAISUKI, MINNA-SAN:D  
One last thing, I plan on belting out a cute, fluffy oneshot, and an angstsy oneshot sometime in the near future. Keep your eyes open! And thanks again for your reviews!


	8. Job Hunt

Author's notes: This chapter... was so hard to get out. XO Plus, what all with being sick and all... anyway, forgive me and my horrid tardiness.

(poke) Oh, and go post on my forums. I plan on posting major spoiler for this fic and possibly others there in the near future. :3 And there's a shiny little TMM section for y'all. So... yeah.

Disclaimer: I don't own Tokyo Mew Mew. I don't even own "my" room. XP

---

Now it's time to retell the alien boys' job hunts. There were, to say the least, interesting affairs.

It was a bright, shining day, ready for accomplishments. The three aliens woke up relatively early, the two who were unemployed ready to start the aforementioned job hunts. Taruto, to the contrary, would be starting his first day of work at the cafe today.

"Any idea what kind of jobs you're going to be looking for?" Pudding asked Kisshu and Pai while flipping pancakes for breakfast.

"The first thing I qualify for," said Kisshu, apparently not having any high standard.

"Something decent," droned Pai, stll half asleep.

"And are you ready to start working today, Taru-Taru?" Pudding cheerfully continued.

The pet name didn't seem to faze him, as he replied, "I guess so." He shrugged, not completely loving or hating the idea of working with the monkey girl for an indefinite amount of time.

"Well then," brief pause to flip another pancake, "it seems we all have big days ahead of us, na no da!"

Groans for replies. More likely than not, they were still trying to wake up.

Pudding passed out plates and started distributing food. "Eat up and get ready everyone! I'm going to go wake up my siblings."

The rest of the morning wasn't really worth mentioning. They ate, dressed, all those necessary things. Pai and Kisshu took some instructions Pudding gave them to some major facilities in town, and Taruto was going to leave with her. She was to drop her siblings off at school and then the two would walk to the cafe from there.

They said their goodbyes and departed. It was going to be a long day.

---

Kisshu walked down the pavement, staring at the piece of paper Pudding had given him.

"Let's see, where should I try first... there's a music store right here. I could try that."

Despite the fact that Kisshu knew little to nothing about music, he entered the store.

It was small and filled to its utmost capacity with instruments of all sorts as well as assorted books on how to play them. Kisshu approached the man behind the counter.

"I'm here to apply for a job," he announced bluntly.

The large man raised an eyebrow. "You know how you work a register?"

"Sure."

"What about customer service?"

"I'm a people... person."

"Do you even play an instrument?"

Blank stare. "...Uh, sure!"

Taking a quick glance around the store, a flute caught his golden eyes. How hard could such a tiny instrument be, anyway? And he had seen people playing them before. They didn't look that hard.

"I play the flute," Kisshu lied tactfully.

"Oh, really?" Up went the eyebrow again. "I'd love to see you play."

Poor Kisshu choked. He wasn't actually expecting he'd have to back up his lie.

The large, and somewhat scary man handed the alien boy a shiny black flute and cast him an expectant look. Kisshu knew he was to play or possibly be injured by the scary man.

'How do I get myself into these messes?' the helpless boy thought as he slowly raised the instrument to his lips, hoping something good would come out.

However, it uttered what might have been the most horrific sound he had ever heard, causing the man to cringe and fling his hands up to his ears in a painful manner.

"_Stop_!" he exclaimed, snatching the flute from its player's hands. "That's enough! Get out of my store!"

Kisshu flinched and obeyed, leaving with his tail between his legs.

"That went well," he commented sarcastically under his breath, taking a sharp turn away from the store to find somewhere else to apply for work.

---

It was awkward, to say the least.

Pudding and Taruto had just dropped off her numerous siblings at school, and now walked alongside each other, on their way to Cafe Mew Mew.

It was awkward for several reasons, one of them that they were now all alone together with no one they knew near by, something they hadn't been since the alien boys had arrived on earth.

It was also awkward because, unlike she usually was, Pudding was being relatively silent, only saying or speculating random small, meaningless things every few minutes.

Taruto fought down a blush he felt rising to his face as he repeated these facts in his head.

'She's just Pudding, she's just a human, she's annoying, and I don't like her. In fact, I hate her. I'm just tolerating her because we need her help.' And yet, these statements weren't nearly as reassuring as he had hoped they'd be, perhaps even making it worse. How that was possible, he knew not.

Raising his head, he noticed that Pudding's eyes were watching him, a bemused smile playing on her dainty lips, and all hopes of him being able to control that darned blush immediately flew out the window with no chances of ever coming back.

"Wh-what are you staring at?" he asked, vainly trying to sound annoyed.

"You, I guess," she answered bluntly, with a small grin. "You've grown a lot since when I last saw you, and yet you look the same. Not," she added, "that I mind at all."

The implications behind that comment smacked Taruto in the face. He felt his face heat up even more.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Once again, he feigned annoyance as convincingly as he could. Which wasn't very good.

And once the question left his mouth, he regretted it. He realized that Pudding would most likely give him the straight truth, and he really didn't want to hear the truth.

"I don't know," she shrugged nonchalantly, adverting her gaze to her feet, "I always thought you were handsome, na no da. I'm glad that hasn't changed, is what I think I'm saying."

Bam. There it was. That truth that I mentioned earlier that Taruto desperately didn't want to hear.

Although he wasn't expecting "handsome" to be the adjective she used in her dialect... and he couldn't help but let some part of him enjoy that.

"We're here, na no da!" Pudding speculated, gently seizing Taruto's hand and leading him into the painfully pink restaurant.

Her very touch, no matter how soft or insignificant, completely stole away Taruto's ability to talk.

And yet, some part of him seemed to enjoy that as well.

---

"So, you, like, want to work here? Are you, like, serious?" Glossy blue eyes stared hard at the eldest alien boy, whom stood before her, awkwardly playing with the words in his head.

"It's not that I want to... I just need a job... er, what I mean is..." Talking to girls of this one's nature really unnerved Pai. He wasn't sure if it was because some part of him was mildly shy, or if it was simply because he hated her type. Self-absorbed, which she obviously was, due to the fact that she held a hand mirror in possession at _work_, and just generally preppy, although Pai wasn't familiar with the specific term at the moment, he definitely knew he didn't like her type.

"Listen, I, like, don't know if you're cut out for this kind of job. It's, like, harder than you think it is."

Pai's turn to stare! "It's a grocery store. You bag the food. How hard could that be?"

"Well, sometimes the grapes, like, slip away, and sometimes you fall asleep during work, and it's... just hard work!" These protests only reinforced Pai's dislike for her type, and even more so, her.

"If this is your idea of hard work, then I rue the day I see you being lazy."

The tall boy turned on his heel and walked away, only to be shouted after, "What does 'rue' mean?"

---

"Okay, the pet store was a definite no," Kisshu sighed to himself, making an imaginary 'X' on his imaginary "Job ideas" list. "Computer store, heck no. And speaking of which, I'm gonna have to ask Pai what a mother board really _is_ some time... furniture shop, no. Note to self, don't fall sleep on the products in the future. Bosses don't like that."

The poor boy was having more difficulty finding an occupation than he had expected. Apparently, charm, looks, and amazing wit didn't play a big role in most everyday jobs, or else he would have snagged a job right away.

"I really didn't want to resort to this, but..."

He speculated the building in front of him that was accompanied by a tall sign, decorated with two golden arches and the building's name. Hesitantly, he entered and approached the counter.

"I'm looking for a job here, are there any open positions?"

The scraggly, homely teenaged boy that he faced stared back, a most unintelligible expression sitting on his features.

"Uhhh, we don't have any job spots open... I don't think so, anyway..."

A tall women tapped the boy on the shoulder and said, "We do now. You're fired."

The unintelligible expression changed ever so slightly as he shrugged, removing his badge, and replying stupidly, "Sure, whatever."

Kisshu watched with both amusement and mild disgust as the boy left their presences, and the tall lady whom Kisshu assumed was the manager (this assumption made based off of the large badge she donned that read, "MANAGER") smiled, and shook his hand. "Welcome to McDonald's. Glad to have a smart looking kid on staff."

Kisshu gave her a surprised look, and asked, "That's it? I'm an employee?"

"At this point," she said, her eyes widening for emphasis, "I'm deperate. You know how to work a cash register?"

"Yeah..."

"Glad to have you. You start work tomorrow."

So Kisshu left the building with feelings of pride, success, and slight confusion all mixed up inside.

---

The atmosphere, quite unlike the other places Pai had visited, was peaceful and quiet, and he quite liked it.

"Welcome to East Tokyo Library, may I help you?" a young woman asked him, hardly looking up at him from her computer.

"I was hoping to apply for a job here." Pai never was very tactful when it came to things of this sort. He didn't see any reason for delaying his points, he always said.

"Hmm, let's see... can I see your resume, please?"

Pai was surprised, but no trace of that was expressed on his face. "I... uh... don't have one."

The dark haired woman looked at him for a moment, then said slowly, "Normally, we demand a resume, but there's something about you... that looks strangly competent. So I'll put you on trial for a couple of days and see if you're good material for this kind of job. Come back tomorrow."

Pai nodded gratefully and left, not knowing what else to say. He never was the chatty type.

---

Taruto uncomfortably shifted his weight between his legs under the unexpressive stare of Ryou, waiting for him to say something.

"Well, you're an waitor now. Time for you to change into your uniform."

...Huh? Taruto glanced at Pudding, then back at Ryou. Pudding never said anything about a uniform...

Then again, he got the feeling there were quite a few details to come about this job that Pudding never informed him of.

"Here you go." Ryou impassively handed the young boy a clean, white shirt with stiff buttons going down the front, and a pair of brown jean with straps that were to go over his shoulders.

Definitely not Taruto's outfit of choice, but it could have been worse.

They could have forced him into a waitress outfit.

That would have been bad.

---

A few minutes later, Taruto appeared in his uniform, not looking particularly pleased. Pudding, however, thoroughly enjoyed the sight.

"Taru-Taru, you look so cute!" she squealed enthusiastically. She threw her arms around his waist in a tight hug, inspiring that ever annoying blush that Taruto so hated to jump into action.

"S-stop..." he managed to squeak, trying vainly to push her off.

Their antics were interrupted by Ryou, "Hey, you two, quit standing around and get to work."

"Hai, Shirogane-oniichan, na no da!" Pudding released Taruto and marched into the kitchen.

Taruto, a little bit confused, clumsily followed, preparing himself for a long day of work.

---

"Huu..."

Kisshu sighed, walking home tiredly. Finding a job had taken more wind out of him than he expected it would, probably partly due to the fact that he wasn't permitted to teleport himself around town for fear of arising suspicions amongst locals.

"I think I'm lost," he announced to himself, placing hands on hips, taking a look around himself only to find he wasn't familiar with his surroundings. The sun was starting to set, the sky was painted pink and yellow, and the soft chirping of crickets and cicadas was slowly growing in volume.

"Well, that's just great." Sigh.

"What's so great?" came a voice from behind him, causing him to jump.

"Wha?" He spun around and saw his favorite strawberry standing before him, a small smile tugging at her lips.

"I said, what's so great?" she repeated.

He noted she was still in her cherry red waitress uniform, albeit with a leather jacket accompanying it. The setting sun made her chocolate brown eyes shine abnormally bright, perhaps even twinkle.

"Well, koneko-chan, I think I got lost on my way home. I just finished my job hunt," Kisshu responded, grinning his infectious grin, pointed teeth and all.

Ichigo allowed the smile she had been repressing to spread. "So I guessed right. I had a feeling you were lost. You looked it."

The tall boy replied to her smile with an even wider grin, and said, "So you were spying on me, koneko-chan?"

This instantly replaced the catgirl's smile with a disdainful scowl, followed by, "Absolutely not! I just saw you here, and you didn't notice me! Why would I spy on you, anyway?"

Playing hard to get. As she always was. "Well, anyway... think you could point me in the right direction?"

Ichigo nodded and pointed to a street behind them. "Go down that street, take a left, and it's the first house on your right."

Smiling gratefully, he picked up her slender hand. "Thanks, koneko-chan. I appreciate it. And try not to _stalk_ me or anything."

Placing a mischievous kiss on her hand, he darted in the direction she specified.

"You baka! Don't kiss me! Or touch me, for that matter! And I'd never stalk you! You're the stalker! I shouldn't have even helped you!"

He only chuckled. He loved ruffling her fur.

---

Closing and locking the cafe door behind her, Pudding stretched a little and yawned. She had volunteered herself and Taruto to close up shop after everyone had left.

"So, how was it, Taru-Taru?" she asked, smiling saccharinely sweet.

"Well... I'm totally beat, but it's kind of a nice tired. I feel like I accomplished a lot."

Pudding giggled softly. "I'm glad, na no da. Are you ready to go home and have dinner?"

"Yeah. I'm hungry..." Taruto couldn't help but return her radient smile.

She slipped her hand into his and gripped it securely, almost comfortingly. Normally, he would have protested, but there was something about her tender touch that relaxed him and sent chills down his spine.

The two walked home like that, and if I may say so, it was adorable.

---

AN: Yatta! Another chapter down! ;) I must say, I rather like this one. It's kind of rough around the edges, but it's amusing. n.n Sorry for the job finding being so convenient, I don't really know how stuff like that works... Okies, sorry for taking so long, I was really sick with some kind of crazy flu, and I've been beat... but I hope you liked it! And now to acknowledge some reviewers...  
cruelfeline: You are the bomb. n.n  
Moonlight-Milkyway: Nya! Thanks for such an awesome review!  
Moonie: Oniichan means big brother. Oneechan means big sister. XP So, yes, Ryou's still male.  
LilyBlaze: XD I suppose you could say I'm a big fan of hers. Fufu.  
And thanks to everyone else who reviewed, and also to everyone who reviewed my oneshot, "The Hate List"! Until next chapter... ja ne!


	9. Coincidence

Chapter nine: Coincidence

AN: Whoa, sorry for taking so long... I got a new computer and have been playing with it incessantly for the past few days. XD Sorry. Heh. The thing about it is, it's in the same room as my mom's computer so we're almost always in the same room and I hate writing when there's people around... so that's partly why I took so long. (gets pelted with rotten fruits and other things)

---

"Here, wear this hat."

"That hat is ridiculous."

"It's all I can think of, na no da! Just try it on!"

Taruto and Kisshu watched, thouroughly amused, as Pudding wrestled with Pai to get an over-sized hat over his head. And it wasn't just any over-sized hat; it was a hat with kitty ears. And that wasn't all. It had large, bubbly eyes embroidered onto it. Presumably for cosplaying. The purpose of the hat was to cover Pai's elongated ears, which would most certainly scare away people at the library, and possibly even get him fired before he even really got the job.

The sight of Pai in a fluffy kitty hat was definitely a Kodak moment, Kisshu acknowledged, whipping out a camera from behind his back and capturing the scene. Pai gave a "deer-caught-in-the-headlights" look, then a frightening glare. The green haired boy only laughed.

"Isn't there any other way?" Pai begged, almost leaving his monotone long enough to sound mildly upset.

"'Fraid not, Pai-kun."

The eldest alien sighed and stood up. "Whatever... I better get to work now."

Kisshu followed. "Me too."

Taruto glanced at Pudding and said, "We should get doing too."

"Hai, no da. Let me go get my siblings."

---

Pai couldn't help but notice the strange look the head librarian gave him when he approached her desk, and it made him feel even more awkward.

"Interesting choice of headgear, Mr..."

"...Pai..."

"Pai. I think you'll feel right at home over in the children's section. I want you to keep an eye on things, answer questions, make sure everyone's following the rules."

Pai nodded, although he desperately wished she had stationed him elsewhere. If there was one thing that made him feel more awkward than people staring at him in all of his kitty-hat glory, it was small children.

Immediately, a little girl with wide eyes tugged at his pant's leg, holding up a book. "Excuse me, Kitty-san, will you read this to me?"

The poor boy tried his hardest not to twitch at his new nickname sat in a chair, slowly taking the book from the little girl's hands.

'I should have taken that job at Jack-in-the-Box...' Pai thought to himself pathetically.

"Start reading now," the child prompted, seating herself on Pai's lap, eager to hear the story.

Sigh. "'The Lonely Little Puppy,'" he read, certain that his was turning blue in the face. This was so far out of his comfort zone, it wasn't even funny. Well, not to him, anyway.

"'Once upon a time, there was a shy little puppy named Noodles. Noodles was always too shy to talk to the other puppies, so he never made any friends. He became very lonely.'"

Pai was trying so hard to concentrate on reading the words on the pages without letting his voice break in half that he hadn't noticed that several other children had gathered around to listen to the story. And he certainly hadn't noticed that someone who happened to be passing by had recognized him and was watching in silent amusement.

"'But one day, a nice puppy named Fluffy introduced himself to Noodles and the two puppies became best friends. The end.'"

Thanking whoever wrote the cursed book for making it so short, Pai closed it and handed it back to the girl from whence it came, suddenly noticing his audience.

"Thanks, Kitty-san! You're the best book-reader EVER!" the little girl exclaimed empathetically, hugging his leg and leaving to find her family. All the other children took turns thanking "Kitty-san" for reading the book to them. With every "Thank you, Kitty-san", Pai turned a new shade of blue. Finally, they were all gone, leaving him dumbfounded. The hidden observer came out from the corner, a smile firmly in place.

"Ohayo, Pai-san," she greeted, still amused.

Pai's eyes widened. Just when he thought this day couldn't get any more embarrassing... "Midorikawa-san? What are you doing here?"

"I come to this library a lot, for studying and reading... What brings you here?"

"I, uh... work here now..." He redirected his gaze, fiddling with a pencil he found on the floor.

"Oh, that's very cool! And I was impressed when I saw you reading to the children. You're a natural."

Pai looked at her like she had three heads (although he had probably seen weirder things than that before). The idea of him and children working well together was such a foreign concept to him. The closest thing to a small child that Pai had ever interacted with regularly was Taruto, and he was abnormally mature for his age, although he had his... moments.

"You really think so?"

"Certainly!" Retasu flashed a warm smile, then glanced at her watch. "Oh, I really need to get going, I have to get to the cafe. Nice seeing you, Pai-san!"

And in a flash, she was gone, leaving Pai in the dazed state he had been in since entering the library.

---

"Ohayo gozaimasu!" Pudding greeted the entire cafe cheerfully, throwing her arms into the air for emphasis. No one acknowledged her gesture except Keiichirou, however.

"Good morning, Pudding-san." He smiled his ever-polite smile.

Retasu suddenly popped through the doors, almost crashing into Pudding.

"Gomennasai! I'm not late, am I?"

Pudding answered, "Right on time, na no da. Why would you be late?"

Retasu looked about nervously. "I got, uh... distracted. I'm going to go change into my uniform..." She then scattered into the back room in a flustered manner.

Pudding brushed it off, not noticing the difference in behavior, and turned to Taruto. "Ne, want to help me clean the dishes?"

The boy shrugged and followed as Ichigo and Ryou watched curiously (Ichigo more curious than Ryou). When the two were gone, Ichigo commented with a wide smirk, "Those two sure get along a lot better now, don't they? Isn't it cute?"

Ryou only shrugged impassively. "I hadn't noticed."

He seemed to have a knack for making Ichigo switch modes very quickly. "What do you mean, 'I hadn't noticed'!"

He shrugged once more.

"You drive me crazy!"

"Heh. I know."

---

The tall manager--now Kisshu's boss--greeted him, patting him on the shoulder."Oh, good to see you, the lunch rush will start soon."

"Now, I've gotta ask, dear, what's with the Halloween ears?"

Kisshu instinctively reached up to touch his ears, then realized what she meant. "I though it might, uh, attract customers."

It was amazing how fast Kisshu could come up with cover-ups. And how most of the time, people bought them. Pai was one of the few who could distiguish between truth and lie with him, an ability that only reenforced the fact that the two shared a very younger brother/older brother-like relationship.

"Good thinking, dear. I'm going to let you run the drive way window duty, m'kay?"

Before Kisshu would have had a chance to protest, she disappeared, so he simply accepted his task and took his place. It didn't take long for a voice to come through.

"Hey, can I order now?" asked a man's voice, slightly distorted through the communicative system.

"Yes, what do you want?"

"Let's see... I want... a number 4, a number 2, a diet coke... wait, no make that two number 4's... oh, strike the number two..."

Kisshu was trying pathetically to dicipher what the numbers represented and type in the man's order, all the while wishing that he had gotten an orientation.

"Oh, you know what? I think I'll just get a soda and eat at the sushi bar across the street."

Using every bit of self-control he owned, Kisshu tried his hardest not to scream like a little girl, and muttered, "Your total is one hundred yen... thanks for your business..."

Having a job was even harder than finding one in the first place.

---

Meanwhile at the cafe...

"Welcome, na no da! Come right this way, please!" Pudding greeted a group of young teens with her sunny charm. The group complied and followed her.

"You can sit right here, and may I take your order?"

She was simply perfect for being a waitress, except for the fact that her "acts" had occasionally broken things, something she grew out of in recent years. She always had such a bright personality and was perfect with the customers. And more recently, Ichigo and the others had noticed amongst themselves, held the attention of many of the male customers, although Pudding was innocently blind to this.

Taruto had begun to take note of this as well, and whether he wanted it to or not, it grated on his nerves.

After watching her from afar for a short period of time, whilst sweeping the floor, he started to wonder...

'Am I really good enough for her?'

This was the first time the thought, or anything like it, had ever crossed his mind. Although, he had never ventured as far as admitting that he liked her, something he had only done recently.

After all, they were so different...

'She's cheerful, bright, and easy to love... I'm moody, occasionally morose, and plain. She's pretty, with her shiny, blonde hair, healthy, tan complexion... I'm dull, placid, and pale...'

The more he thought about it, the more unsure about himself he felt.

Could she really ever like someone like him?

'This is ridiculous! Why should I care what she thinks of me, anyway? And besides, she's always clinging to me... she must like me... oi! Why do I keep thinking like this?'

He was so deep in his thoughts, that he didn't noticed Ryou up in his face, observing his distant expression.

"If you're dead, I might have to fire you," Ryou stated, both amused and annoyed.

Taruto snapped back into reality with a start, surprised to find Ryou's face so close to his own that he almost fell backwards. "Uwaa... I'm sorry... I was just..."

Ryou waved a nonchalant hand. "It's nothing. Just don't do it again."

The young boy nodded passively, turning around to return to his job, when he found himself face to face with yet another being, this one taking him by surprise as much as the first one, if not, more.

"Taru-Taru, are you okay?"

"P-Pudding... you scared me..."

"Are you okay?" the monkey girl repeated.

"Y... yeah, I'm okay..."

Pudding tilted her head to the side. "Your face is all red." She then placed a dainty hand on his forehead, gently brushing the fingers of her other hand across his cheeks. It sent a chill down his spine and, no doubt, probably made him turn even more red. "You feel a bit warm, too, na no da..."

She caught his eyes with her own, full of worry and concern. "Come with me into the kitchen, I'll get you something cool."

She gently took him into the kitchen, treating him as if he were a fragile item, not to be broken.

"Akasaka-oniichan!" Pudding chirped sweetly, tugging on Keiichirou's pant's leg like a small child.

"Yes, Pudding-san?" Keiichirou asked, smiling his ever-polite smile.

"Can you make something cold for Taru-Taru? He's not feeling good."

Taruto silently took amusement in the fact that he had never said a word abut not feeling good, and yet she was certain that something was wrong with him.

Although, in a way, she was right...

'I'm being silly... would she have gone to this much trouble for me if she didn't like me?'

"Here's some ice cream. And a bowl for you too, Pudding-san. I know how much you like this kind."

"Arigatou gozaimasu, Akasaka-oniichan!"

Taruto carefully watched Pudding, then thought to himself, 'I'm definitely just being silly.'

---

AN: Okay, that didn't end the way I planned, but I've just got too much to deal with to write anymore and I didn't want to prolong this chapter any longer, so... blah, whatever. Hope you liked it. :P I promise more KisshuxIchigo fluff in the next chapter, too. So... yeah. Don't hurt me.

Meichiro: Hehe, thanks!  
DarkWolfYoukai860: XD No, he shouldn't, but that's just Kisshu for you.  
Yokie: Yup. Huhu.  
cruelfeline: Your reviews make me dance such a happy little dance. ;)  
Moonlight-Milkyway: You're welcome! And thank YOU!


	10. Conflict

Chapter ten: Conflict

AN: Holy... how long has it been since I've updated this? (dies) Sorry, this chapter gave me a TON of trouble... gomen. The next one will be better, I swear.

---

Taruto carefully watched Pudding, then thought to himself, 'I'm definitely just being silly.'

"Fuu, I'm tired!"

Ichigo came into the room and stretched, not that much unlike a cat.

"Hi, Ichigo-oneechan! What're you doing here?" Pudding asked, quickly turning her attention to Ichigo.

"On break," she answered, smiling tiredly.

Taruto stared blankly at the leader of the Mew Mews. He couldn't forget how much he used to hate her, and notice how the feeling still lingered, albeit not nearly as strong as it was. Kisshu's love for her still bothered him, but less so now...

Now that he understood...

Although he would never, ever forgive her for calling him a midget.

Realizing he had gotten lost in thought once again, which was the reason he was in the kitchen playing with the ice cream in his bowl in the first place, he looked around himself.

Ichigo had left, presumably to get back to work, along with Keiichirou. Where he went, Taruto had no guesses and didn't particularly care.

But what he did notice...

...was that he was now alone with Pudding. Again...

"Taru-Taru?" Pudding called softly, closing in a large amount of the distance between his face and hers. He could feel her warm breath, they were so close... "You're not sick, are you."

It wasn't really a question, but it wasn't exactly a statement either. Nevertheless, Taruto felt he was supposed to answer.

"Not... really... it's something else."

"Well, do you want to talk about it?" Pudding pulled her chair next to his, her expression holding earnest compassion and concern.

"...I'm not..."

"It's all right." The blonde girl smiled her infectious smile. "You don't have to tell me. What about last night?"

Taruto's expression screwed up into one of confusion. "Last night?"

"Did you sleep alright? No... bad dreams?"

"Nnn... well... it's nothing important..."

Pudding put a reassuring hand on top of his own. "I won't make you, but talking about things that make you sad to other people can make you feel better, you know."

"..."

---

"Kisshu!" The sudden shout caused the frantic alien boy to jump.

"Wh-what?" he spun around and came face to face with his manager.

"Go ahead and call it a day, boy. You worked hard and while I don't normally let people off this early, I'm kinda fond of you."

The tall woman pat his head as if he were some kind of dog, but Kisshu enjoyed the praise.

"Thanks, ma'am!" Kisshu bolted before could change her mind or something of that sort.

---

"Welcome to Cafe Mew M--" Ichigo stopped mid-sentence, realizing who it was she was greeting. "K-Kisshu?"

"Hey, koneko-chan! Aren't you gonna show me to my table?" the boy asked, smug grin in its usual place.

"What are you doing here?" Ichigo spluttered, both surprised and annoyed to see him.

"My boss let me off early, so I figured I'd say hi to my favorite waitress." He leaned down and poked her on the nose, amused at the noise she made in reply, which sounded something like, "Mmghphu!"

"Kisshu-!" The cat girl wasn't sure what to tell him. She couldn't refuse him, since he was technically a customer in this situation. So what to do?

"Yes, koneko-chan?" he answered with his mock-innocent tone.

"Nng..." Defeat. "Your table is right this way."

A glorious victory for Kisshu. He was going to have a lot of fun with this.

"What can I get you to drink?" Ichigo asked, glaring at her notepad as f it were its fault.

"Water is good for me, koneko-chan," Kisshu replied, leaning on his chair's back comfortably.

"Right away..." Ichigo mumbled, although Kisshu's acute ears caught what she said without trouble.

So Ichigo stalked off to the kitchen, gaining the attention of curious customers, wondering what it is the innocent boy could have possibly said to ruffle the young waitress so much. Although in reality, he really hadn't done anything...

---

Pudding wondered to herself if she was supposed to hug the air out of him or let him finish talking.

She stuck with the latter option, and continued to listen to Taruto tell her about his dream, which turned out to be more of a nightmare than anything else.

"So... then I try to grab her hand and she disappears... and... I'm all alone..." The boy's bottom lip trembled ever so slightly as he finished his tale.

Now, Pudding decided, was the time to hug the air out of him.

"Taru-Taru, I'm sorry..." she cooed softly. "I didn't know your mom was..."

"It's... not... that I can't take care of myself," Taruto stated, making some kind of attempt at sounding haughty. "I'm not a baby or anything."

"Taru-Taru, it's okay to need other people's help sometimes," Pudding said, releasing her grip with a steady stare. The boy nodded slowly.

Taruto couldn't help but feel awkward though. He wasn't used to opening up to anyone. What had possessed him to do so this time?

He could guess at an answer but decided not to. The young alien had a feeling it would make him feel even more discomforted.

"We should get back to work before Shirogane-oniichan comes in here and gets mad at us. Angry Shirogane-oniichan is scary, na no da!" Pudding giggled.

Taruto nodded and followed her, still feeling a bit strange, but relieved all at the same time.

---

"Oi, Kisshu!" Ichigo stared in disbelief at the boy. She had come back with his order and found him with his head reseted on the table, his breath slow and rhythmic.

And Ichigo couldn't help but notice, somewhat amused--

--that Kisshu was snoring.

And not just your regular snore, either.

It sounded like a snore mixed up with a sneeze and a chuckle.

It really was a funny noise.

Ichigo smiled and sighed, sitting next to him.

"Ne, Kisshu..." She poked him gently in the arm. Something about watching him sleep made her feel peaceful, like watching a puppy.

And something about it made her sleepy too... she rested her head on the table the same way, closed her eyes, and drifted off into a peaceful nap.

What felt like a long time, although in reality it was only a few minutes, the cat girl woke up to the pleasant greeting of:

"BAKA STRAWBERRY!"

With a yelp, jump, and glare, the girl was very much awake, along with the boy who had been asleep next to her.

"Get back to work! You can't sleep on the job." Ryou thrust a broom into her hands. "Go outside and sweep!"

Unable to come up with a retort, Ichigo sulked out the door, who was chased after by Kisshu.

Ryou sighed and rubbed his temples. Sleeping employees equals an angry manager.

---

"Oi, koneko-chan, wait up!"

Ichigo stopped abruptly, causing Kisshu to crash into her, but by some miracle, both of them maintained their footing.

"I'm sorry I got you in trouble, koneko-chan," Kisshu apologized, a small, bewildered smile on his face.

Ichigo turned around and looked at him wordlessly for a moment before replying. "It's not your fault."

"Well, and I guess I did drop in on you," he continued.

"You have just as much of a right to come by the cafe as anyone else," Ichigo countered again.

"And I didn't mean to annoy you," Kisshu stated as a closing of his apology. Ichigo gave him a smile, then shook her head.

"I was overreacting."

The girl began sweeping up the sidewalk in silence as the boy watched her. The two had somehow reconciled some unannounced fight. Perhaps now Ichigo finally accepted that she'd be seeing a lot more of Kisshu.

And even--

--enjoyed it?

---

Sigh.

Pai stared at the blank computer screen in front of him. After messing around with the Library's index and playing Pong with himself a few dozen times, he had come to the conclusion that he was absolutely bored.

Sure, this was better than jumping around, doing mundane tasks, but this kind of job definitely would wear on his nerves after a few weeks.

Since his section was (thankfully) empty at the moment, Pai decided to sneak off and find a book to read whilst on the job.

He thumbed through a couple of thick books, none of them particularly piking his interest. Most of the things the books taught were things Pai had learned years ago. There was a downside to being a child prodigy.

Pai mumbled something that probably he didn't even comprehend, and he wandered aimlessly into the next book aisle over, when all of a suddden, a tiny object on the floor caught his attention.

He bent over and picked it up. It was a bookmark, colorful, but not bright. It looked as if it were hand-drawn, with random curly designs all about it. His eyes drifted down to the bottom corner, where he noticed in neat cursive was written, "Midorikawa Retasu".

Oh, geez.

Was it coincidence? Was it destiny? Was it fate?

Or maybe was Pai simply the (un?)luckiest guy in Tokyo.

'Do I give it back to her?' he wondered. 'Do I just throw it away? It's just a bookmark. Then again, it could be important to her. But then again, what does it matter to me?'

In the midst of arguing with himself, he did not notice that his boss was standing right behind him.

"Sir, why are you not maintaining your section?"

Pai stuttered, something he was not commonly known for doing. "I, uh... found this." He presented the bookmark to the woman.

"Ah, must have been dropped by someone. I'll just put it in the Lost and Found basket, and--"

"Wait," Pai interrupted.

"Hm?"

"I know... who it is that lost this. I can give it back to her by myself..."

The woman nodded approvingly. "Very well. Back to your station, then."

Pai obeyed, and left, clutching the piece of paper gently in his hands as he went.

What had he just agreed to...?

---

AN: Okay, that was a bad chapter, but I hope y'all are happy with it anyway. n.n; I rather like the last bit...

Tomoyo Kinomoto: Thanks for all of the lovely reviews. n.n  
eMew.Lemon: Luff ya too. X3  
cruelfeline: Ahh, such a pretty review. Oh, demon kitties? Sounds fun. X3

And thanks to everyone else who reviewed! And don't worry, I won't drop this fic. I plan to finish it. XD It just might take a while.


	11. First Day

AN: Nyan, sorry for taking such a long time. I've been cramming and taking exams for the the last two weeks, but at least I'm done with middle school now... I've also had to work on the yearbook and everything, so it's been a lot of work. I only just recently deemed myself fit to start writing again. :P Sorry again. Hope you guys like this chapter.

---

Poke. "Wake up, Taru-Taru." Poke again. "Taru-Taru, wake up or I'm gonna tickle you!"

Taruto's eyes shot open at this threat. "Okay, I'm up..."

"I had a feeling you weren't asleep," Pudding commented, beginning to dig through the boy's closet. She tossed a uniform at him, but because he was caught off-guard, he ended up getting thwaped in the face with it instead of catching it.

"Hey!" Taruto protested, still groggy from being poked awake.

"Not my fault," Pudding giggled, still digging through his closet. This time, she tossed shoes, so Taruto made a harder effort to catch them for fear of going out of the house with a broken nose.

"That could have hurt me!" he whined again.

Pudding popped out of the closet, a grin on her face. "But you're not hurt. I don't see what you're complaining about."

The boy opened his mouth to whine again, but Pudding bounced out of the room, saying, "I have to go make breakfast, wake up my siblings, and get dressed, can't talk!"

Taruto grumbled, closed the door behind her, and started to get ready for the day before him.

It wouldn't be fun.

It wouldn't be entertaining.

It wouldn't be easy.

After all, one's first day of school never was.

---

"Do I have to go?" Pai, whiner number two of Pudding's morning, complained. "I already know enough about this planet's culture, I really don't want to know more--"

"Gomen ne, Pai-kun, but you have you go to school!" Pudding insisted, sticking some ramen into the microwave. "It's one of the rules I laid down when you guys decided to live with me, remember? Or would you rather wear... it?" She indicated the closet, obviously referring the the cafe outfit she had snagged in case punishment needed to be dispatched.

Pai winced and fell into silence. He daren't stir up Pudding's wrath and ability to force boys much older than her into dresses. Not that he had ever witnessed her doing this, but he had a strong feeling that she could.

As he chewed thoughtfully on the breakfast the blonde girl had just provided him with, his mind drifted to the topic he had quickly tried to ignore before...

...the bookmark.

Good goodness, what was he going to do?

Pai had a great deal of trouble trying to mull over his thoughts AND remember to chew and swallow his ramen at the same time. He had failed a few times, resulting in a bit of choking, Pudding rushing over to his side to make sure he didn't die, and then him going back to thinking again. Rinse, lather, repeat.

By the time the boy had finished his food (and successfully avoiding landing himself in the respiratory branch of a hospital), Pudding was long gone, no doubt checking up on everyone, not very much unlike a mother.

Pai let out a sigh. Ninteen years old, working in a library, having his life controlled and monitored by a monkey-girl who probably earned more at her job than himeslf, and fussing over what to do about a bookmark.

Yup. Life was good.

---

Besides the glaring question, "What about our ears?" the morning proceeded with relative ease, and soon, everyone was out of the house on their way to school.

Pai had kept his mouth shut about it, but once Kisshu brought up the problem, Pudding was swiftly reminded of Pai's kitty hat. The dreaded hat was forced onto the poor boy's head, then the small (but surprisingly strong as Pai could tell you) blonde went off to look for solutions for the two remaining alien boys.

After discovering another joyous kitty hat sitting in the very bottom of her dresser and forcing it onto Kisshu ("You guys match now!" she announced to Pai and Kisshu with glee as they replied with groans), but nothing for Taruto, she came to the conclusion, "If anyone says anything about your ears, I'll sit on them!"

This being a very valid threat, everyone had scampered out of the house and on their way. Being varying ages and grades, the group split ways.

It didn't take long for a classmate to point out Taruto's abnormally long ears. Pudding simply glared and held up a pencil for him to see. The boy's eyes widened and he ran off at a comical speed.

It amazed Taruto time and time again how someone so cute could be so incredibly evil.

---

Pai walked nervously into the eerily silent room. Being surrounded by so many strange humans was very uncomfortable for him. What was worse is that all of their attention was on the new student.

The gaunt teacher beside him droned out, "Class, please welcome--what's your last name?"

Pai bit his lip, trying to think of a name. He used the first thing that came to mind:

"Fon...?"

"Please welcome Fon Pai."

He then mentally slapped himself and hoped that no one in the class knew Pudding personally. That could lead to some odd situations.

"Take your seat, dear."

Pai obeyed, already feeling indescribably awkward. But he even more awkward when he realized who he had just sat next to...

"Ohayou, Pai-san," whispered a smiling Retasu. She suppressed a giggle, probably either because he was still wearing the kitty hat, or she knew where he got "his" last name from. Or even both.

'Crap.'

Right then, Pai got a strong feeling that some Greater Power was trying to kill him. Some odd Force got a large amount of enjoyment out of torturing innocent people and decided Pai was a perfectly valid torture object. Wasn't Pai just the luckiest guy on earth?

"O...ohayou, Midorikawa-san..." he managed to mumble.

The teacher began to talk, but Pai could hardly concentrate... the evil bookmark that sat in his backpack came back to mind and it was all he could think of.

'What do I do?' he repeatedly asked himself.

Simply having the girl sitting in such a close proximity of himself unnerved Pai...

---

Kisshu sailed slowly down the halls, curiously watching at everyone that passed him. Though he had been in human buildings many times before, he never really took the time to observe them. Humans did the oddest things in their designs, he thought to himself. The alien seemed to stir a good deal of whispering amongst the students, the reason for which could have been an innumerable amount of things.

"Let's see, sensei said my locker should be around here," he mumbled to himself.

He finally found his locker and fumbled with opening it for a minute. Another odd human invention. At last, it swung open and he placed what little possessions he carried in it, grasping the book he needed for his first class.

Just then, his ears picked up the sound of a familiar voice...

"Nyaa... I'm tired."

"Were you up late at your job again?"

"You really ought to tell your boss to go a little easier on you.

"I've tried, believe me."

Ichigo. It was definitely Ichigo.

Although it wasn't much of a surprise, since the two were so close in age. And this was one of the closest junior high schools. And he did ask Pudding what school Ichigo went to...

Okay, yes, so he knew she'd be here.

The boy peeked his head around the corner and there she was, uniform and all.

'Funny,' Kisshu thought briefly to himself, 'she always seems to be in some kind of uniform when I see her.'

When the two friends of Ichigo's left, he decided to say hi. And of course, by "say hi", I mean he snuck up from behind her, covered her eyes, and said, "GUESS WHO!"

To which Ichigo screamed in reply, and to Kisshu's amusement, even hissed a little.

"Let go of me!" Ichigo howled angrily.

"Aw, you didn't even guess." But the boy surrendered and let go. The angry feline whipped around, most likely ready to injure him, but instead groaned when she saw him.

"Kisshu? Mouuu..."

Kisshu raised an eyebrow. "Good morning to you too, koneko-chan."

"I didn't know you'd be stalking me at school, too," she said, also raising a brow.

"Who's stalking? I came here because Pudding made me." That wasn't entirely true, but Kisshu had developed a habit of budging the truth.

Ichigo made a funny little noise and walked away.

"Ne, koneko-chan, that's not fair! I just wanna be your friend," Kisshu whined as pathetically as he could.

No response.

"Aww, koneko-chan, preeeetty please?"

The strawberry-haired girl was secretly enjoying his pleads more than she let on, but she kept her nose in the air and walked on without looking at him.

"With sugar and cherries and strawberries on top?"

It became excruciatingly hard to remain sober once Kisshu started whimpering like a puppy, and finally, Ichigo gave out. She smiled.

"Alright, alright, enough of that. Let's go to class."

The alien boy grinned infectiously and obeyed. He had won, yet again.

---

Brandishing the stout stick that now served as her weapon against all enemies who said anything about her companion's ears, Pudding dragged Taruto off from one class to another. Being protected like a little baby chicken was pretty embarrassing for the poor boy, but he was beginning to grow used to it, which disturbed him moreso than the protection itself.

"Where are we going now?" Taruto asked, trying his best to keep up with his energetic "mother hen" and not trip over her feet at the same time (this had already occured a few times earlier in the morning, and it led to some mortifying positions which Taruto was sure every student in the building had heard about come lunch time).

"Art class, na no da! It's lots of fun! We're painting today," she giggled eagerly. Taruto, on the other hand, shuddered. He could only imagine where this was going...

---

"Kuso..." Pai cursed to himself for what seemed like the zillionth time that day. It was lunchtime and he realized he had forgotten his lunch box at home.

"Well, that's just great."

He threw himself onto a seat and sighed. School was a miserable business, but it was a burden he had to bear. However, staring at the ceiling while trying not to watch others around him eat was just plain torture.

To his surprise, someone sat down next to him. And who else could it be, but--

"Hello again, Pai-kun," Retasu greeted, albeit a tad shyly, as her timid nature never left her for very long.

"Hello," he replied shortly, trying to process the dozens of thoughts that were suddenly running through his head.

The porpoise girl observed her feet for a few moments before asking, "Etou... where is your food?"

Pai blinked a couple of times and recalled his hunger. "Oh, uh... I forgot it at home..." he muttered, trying not to seem too flustered (as he very much was).

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Retasu apologized as if it was her own doing that left him without lunch.

Inspiration suddenly hit and she dug into her bag. "Here, you can have mine," she offered sweetly.

Pai blinked a few times more. "Eh?" Definitely not what he expected.

"Please! I had a big breakfast anyway, and it's your first day in school, isn't it?" She extended her reach a bit further, leaving him with no choice other than to take the offering.

"I couldn't, though..." A wave of guilt hit Pai and he found that it would be impossible to ever eat the food even if he did take it. "We could... share."

D'oh. Bad idea. Pai plus casual conversation equals NO.

"Okay..." Retasu accepted slowly, feeling a bit awkward.

The food was divided, and the two ate in uncomfortable silence. Neither could think of an appropriate conversation to strike with the other.

Until IT hit again...

The evil bookmark of DOOM.

'I'll... just give it to her and tell her I found it... that's not so hard...'

Wrong once again, dear Pai.

Reaching slowly into his bag, he clasped the item gently in his hand but found trouble coming back up.

"Ara... what are you doing, Pai-kun?" Retasu asked, as Pai looked very silly.

"Uh..." Very smart answer. "I..."

He resolved at once to just say it and get it over with. "I found this at the library!" he blurted humorously quickly, shoving the piece of paper into Retasu's dainty hands.

He felt relieved, but also anxious as to how Retasu would react.

Retasu took a slow glance over the bookmark, then smiled happily. "Oh, I'm so glad you found this!" she exclaimed, "I was looking everywhere for it! My little brother made it for me in school a long time ago, so it's really special to me."

Wow. Today was just a day for surprises.

"Arigatou, Pai-kun," Retasu thanked him gratefully, storing away the precious bookmark.

She then caught a glimpse of her watch. "Oh, gomen, I have to go to my next class. Would you like to walk with me?"

Pai accepted her offer and stood up in a mild daze.

Either there was something wrong with that sashimi, or there was something about the Retasu smiled...

---

Hours later, the gang was all back at home, tired but satisfied. Kisshu had discovered he had a knack for foreign languages, Pai was... pretty much awesome at everything, and Pudding had painted a lovely picture... all over Taruto's face. Needless to say, Taruto marched off to the sink immediately after arriving home.

Though they had all complained about it, the three alien boys didn't seem to feel that getting used to school was going to be quite as impossible as they thought.

Although no one would ever, ever get used to the kitty hats.


	12. Let Me Help

AN: I LIVE? Whoamahgosh! XD (attacked by impatient reviewers) Forgiiive me, I just wasn't inspired to write, and I got all lazy and junk... and then I come back with a filler chapter. (cough) And actually, this one's sort of centered around Kisshu and Ichigo since they took a while to get involved in the story, so don't hurt me please! The next chapter will be funnier, and have more of the characters. And hopefully not be so HORRIBLY written... (sweatdrop) Sorry, I think I lost my ability to write decently... XD

So... haha. I don't know. Don't worry about me abandoning the fic, I've already MADE myself promise to finish it. (giggle) It just might... take a while. (shifty eyes)

ON with ze fic!

---

Glancing once more through the eternally long list to be absolutely CERTAIN he had it all, Kisshu struggled to carry the numerous bags. The poor boy had gotten pegged with the dreaded duty of grocery shopping, and it was an amazingly immense task.

He had tried everything to get out of the job, but Pudding was stubborn. The pouty lip, begging from his knees, melodramatic speech about how his mother had died in a grocery accident (blatant lie), even the fake sobbing... she wouldn't budge. Finally, Kisshu surrendered, but not before declaring indignantly, "Have you no heart, woman??"

So here he was with God knows how many bags. "It's a good thing I've got such huge muscles!" Another blatant lie. His body acknowledged this by promptly cramping, causing him to shriek.

Straining, gathering all his willpower, he clutched onto the bags and resolved to keep going. This would have been much easier, had he been able to transport home, but there was too much sheer mass, and it was beyond his ability.

Kisshu complained under his breath about how Pai and Taruto got the easy chores. Pai vacuumed (watching his initial reaction to the loud machine was quite humorous, as he had never seen one before), and Taruto was quite simply Pudding's slave. He tended to her peculiar fancies, which was anything from blowing bubbles, to braiding each other's hair (which seemed oddly fitting for the young alien boy). Kisshu noted amusedly that his little companion seldom bothered protesting to catering to these whims anymore.

Those things were far from his mind at the moment, though. All he knew was that his left arm was starting to spasm and it felt really weird.

The corner of his golden eyes suddenly caught sight of something familiar. Peeking past the tower of food in his arms, he found it to be Ichigo, on the ground. What was she doing here...?

"Oi, Koneko-chan!" he called cheerfully, despite his sulking a moment ago.

"Nya...?" Ichigo stared for a moment, not realizing that the talking tower was Kisshu. "Oh, Kisshu. What do you want?"

After struggling for a moment to put down his encumbrance, Kisshu kneeled down next to her. "Ne, if I 'wanted' something from you, I wouldn't be carrying all that junk with me, you know," he stated.

"Well."

"Mmm. Anyway. What are you doing here?" he questioned, gathering the books all over the sidewalk he presumed were hers.

"I... etou... tripping, and sort of... I think I hurt my ankle." She indicated her ankle, which did indeed look red and painful.

Taking pity on his favorite kitty, he offered a hand. "Here, let me help you up."

The red head hesitated in taking the pale hand, but finally decided she had no choice. He hoisted her up and allowed her to lean on his shoulder.

"There you go. I've got to take these bags back home. I'll walk you there, and Pudding can help you."

Ichigo only nodded silently, as Kisshu worked on attempting to not only pick up all of his things once again, but Ichigo's books as well. It was easier said than done, and he came very close to dropping it all, but by some miracle, the twosome managed to hobble home. Once getting through the front door, Kisshu called upon the assistance of the monkey girl, and she took care of Ichigo from there.

"Ichigo-oneechan's good as new, na no da!" she declared, as Ichigo walked slowly by her side with her ankle wrapped up.

"Ne, shouldn't she be sitting down?" Kisshu asked slowly, noticing that Ichigo still wore a look of discomfort on her face.

"My dad always told me to 'walk it off'..." Pudding replied, also glancing at her "onceechan".

Kisshu shook his head. "No, it'll just get worse... she should sit, with some ice on it." With that, he assisted the injured girl to the couch while Pudding shrugged and left to get ice.

"Th... thanks..." Ichigo mumbled quietly, not entirely used to being "friends" with the aliens yet.

"Uun, anything for my kitty," he grinned, patting her on the head as if she really were a cat. To his dismay, however, she flinched at his touch. "Oh... sorry."

Ichigo colored embarrassedly and shook her head. "Naa, I didn't mean to...! Gomennasai... it's just... a habit... I mean, I don't..."

"It's all right. Forget about it." The deterred boy stood up and left her, a disappointed look on his face. Ichigo immediately felt guilty, wishing he had stayed long enough for her to explain.

After Pudding came with her ice pack and left to work on laundry, Ichigo sat alone. She shivered, wondering if it was from the ice pack or something else. She thought about Kisshu.

He was helping me... why did I flinch? I didn't mean to...

"BOO!"

"EEK!" Ichigo practically jumped out of her skin, and came close to falling off the couch. Spinning around angrily, she came face to face with Taruto. "What was THAT for?" she howled.

"Sorry, habit," he apologized halfheartedly, smirking. "What're you doing here, anyway?"

"I hurt my ankle and Kisshu helped me here," she muttered, still angry about being startled.

Taruto's expression dimmed noticeably. "Oh."

"'Oh'?" Ichigo echoed, somehow not liking the way it sounded. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"He's always talkin' about you, it's so annoying."

The cat girl mused over this newfound knowledge. She knew Kisshu liked her, but she didn't know he actually ever talked about her. "...Really?"

"Duh," the little boy stated incredulously, surprised she didn't already know. "Even when we were still fighting you Mew Mews, it was always 'Ichigo this, Ichigo that...'"

Ichigo was surprised to realize that she was flattered. Even if it was just a crush, or even an obsession, somehow, it was sort of cute. These thoughts were interrupted by Taruto, who said solemnly, "He really likes you. Don't take it for granted."

At that moment, Pudding called for Taruto, presumably to make him carry in the laundry. He scampered off like an obedient puppy, leaving Ichigo alone once again.

---

"Thank you for walking me home, Kisshu," Ichigo said gratefully, giving him a small bow. Kisshu said nothing. He just stared at her with an empty expression. It gave her the chills.

"Kisshu, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean it the way you took it," she pleaded. "Actually, I'm really glad you helped me. I really appreciate it. My ankle is a lot better now. So please forgive me!"

The emerald haired boy watched her in surprise. Usually a conversation of this sort between the two was completely vice versa. Kisshu was usually the one in the wrong, begging Ichigo for pardon. "It's... okay," he finally said.

Ichigo smiled, relieved. "Oh, I'm glad! ...I have to go now, but thank you again."

Kisshu returned her smile. "No problem. Oh! But Ichigo..." he grinned his usual toothy grin, "You owe me."

Instead of yelling or protesting as she typically did, Ichigo only laughed. "Alright. See you at school."

She disappeared behind her door, and Kisshu went home, satisfied.

He really did adore his kitten. She was so cute.


	13. What Family's All About

AN: Hehe. Hisashiburi da ne, minna? Sheesh. I'm so lazy. Well, after re-reading Healing by cruelfeline (which is still just as glorious as ever, and if you have yet to read it... there's something wrong with you), I was reminded of how much fun I had writing this thing, so. I guess I was blinded by my new passion for Piyoko and Coo (but this, by no means, signifies the end of me spitting out random drabbles of those two, cuz they're just amazing). :P

Anyhow. After reading back a little to remember what on earth was happening in this fic, I noticed that my writing is incredibly (grotesquely, horrifically, any of these fine adverbs will suffice) weak. I'm amazed that I have as many reviews as I do, and I would like to beg pardon for my lack of writing skills.

Sorry for the shortness. I was unmotivated and determined to prove I wasn't dead.

Alright, I suppose that's enough of my note. I know I've said this more than my fair share of times (and in fact, I think I just said it in the last chapter), but... ON WITH ZE FIC.

---

_Oh, no.  
_  
The tiny device Pudding grasped in her hand displayed displeasing numbers, and she sighed, tossing it at her pillow.

This morning, the monkey Mew had woken up and sat up straight in bed with the feeling that something was amiss. Out of place. She had to assess the situation. Out of habit from doing battle on a regular basis, she checked to see if she was cut or bruised in any way. Nope. Trying to blink away her drowsiness, she wondered briefly if she hit her head... reaching up to check, she had realized that she felt abnormally warm and dizzy...

One hundred and two. Pudding had a temperature.

"Why today of all days?" she lamented to herself, wearily changing out of her PJs and into her school uniform.

She had to be at her best for everyone; the household depended on her. The girl made a determined resolution to not let anyone on to the fact that sickness had befallen her. Why bother making everyone worry about her? And besides that, she had several exams in school today, and the café was having its special, one-day cake sale that always brought in a large throng. She absolutely could not fail!

"Wake up, everyone!" she tried to shout, but her voice failed her, so she resorted to the gong.

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

Moments later, her numerous siblings clamored out of their rooms, all dressed and ready to go. The alien boys trailed more slowly after them, comparatively less perky.

"Ohayou, na no da," Pudding greeted everyone in what she hoped sounded like her regular manner. "Umm..."

A quick glance at the clock and it dawned on her that she wasn't up nearly as early as she usually was... breakfast would have to be fast. "...Toast," she mumbled to herself, getting out a loaf of bread.

Everyone settled around the kitchen table curiously, accustomed to having their meals ready long before they were fully-conscious. Pudding always seemed to cook with an energetic vigor, but today, she just trudged about as if... something that they couldn't put their fingers on. Well, no one thought to ask, with the assumption that she just didn't sleep well made. So they ate and left for school as usual.

---

"Fon-san." Silence. All heads turned in the girl's direction. "Fon-san!"

Pudding snapped out of her reverie and looked up to her teacher. "Eh? Oh, sorry..." It was kind of hard for her to focus with her head spinning round and round, throbbing all the while.

"Please stand up."

Sick or not, Pudding blushed... how mortifying! She had never been made to stand up before. She just wanted to go back to bed. It didn't help that every other student gawked at her in wonder, all equally surprised to see Pudding Fon forced to stand up in class. Taruto's eyes, especially, locked onto his caretaker curiously... that wasn't like Pudding. He made a mental note to talk to her about it later.

Oh, and that was only the beginning of the girl's trials. Along with that, she also got a "D" on two of her exams and a "C" on another. She welcomed lunch break with open arms, elated to have a break from the torture.

"Oi, Pudding, are you okay?" Taruto asked, only allowing a mild hint of concern to be conveyed in his tone, sitting down next to the blonde.

"Pudding is fine, na no da!" she tried to reply cheerfully, even though she actually felt miserable. "I just didn't study very hard, I guess! Oh well."

Taruto held onto his suspicions, but decided that if she didn't want to talk about it, it was better not to push too hard. "Okay... let's eat, then..."

---

At work, Pudding was presented with more surprises.

"K-Kisshu?" Pudding was unsure whether or not the green-haired boy's presence was a good thing. "I thought you had work today...!"

He put on the sheepish grin that he wore when he knew he was in trouble. "Ehh, I sorta... got fired."

_Don't say it so carelessly_! Pudding commanded in her head, but decided not to vocalize it. She was most certainly not in the condition to bicker right now. Instead, she sighed. "But I thought your boss loved you."

"Well, she did... until the fries incident..."

"Ugh, I don't even want to know." Then another surprising face came into her view. "Pai? Don't tell me you got fired too, na no da...!"

Pai shook his head and replied, "Day off. I didn't know until I arrived there, so I reasoned that I could come here..." and his voice trailed off.

He never did explain what his motives were for coming to the café, but Pudding didn't bother to give it much thought. Duty called. The rush of customers was starting, as a group of highschoolers waited for a table, a couple insisted that they ordered a chocolate cake, not a cherry one, and a small girl spilled her smoothie all over the floor.

_Extra money or not, I really hate this sale!_ Pudding moaned, equipping herself with a mop.

---

A very-frustrated-Ichigo glared at a way-too-happy-Kisshu. "What. Are. You. Doing. Here. AGAIN."

"I. Came. Because. I. Got. Fired. And—"

"_TALK NORMALLY_," the catgirl hissed. Kisshu wondered if her hair might stand up.

"I came because I got fired and I had nothing else to do." He smiled like a naughty child that had accomplished something very bad and was pleased that his mother was angry about it.

"Look, we're totally _swamped_. Last time was different because we weren't busy, but now I _really_ don't need you to get in my way!"

Kisshu nodded simply. "Okay."

"Okay."

So Ichigo headed for the back kitchen, but immediately halted and turned around. "_Why_ are you following me?"

"I dunno."

Sigh. She kept walking, hoping he might disappear or something, but alas, he did not. In fact, he was following her way too closely. So after a few minutes of this, she spun around once again and declared, "If you're going to be here, the least you could do is help!"

In contrast to her demanding tone, Kisshu responded with a much more passive, composed tone. "Whatever you say, koneko-chan."

"And don't call me koneko-chan, especially not here!"

"...Whatever you say, Momomiya-sensei."

Ichigo sighed again. She ignored the inaccurate honorific, and proceeded to show him the the kitchen counter. "Do you know how to follow a recipe?" she asked, indicating a cook book.

"Yes, ma'am!" He now stood erect like a soldier. It seemed that to him, this was all just an amusing game.

"Alright, I want you to follow this recipe and make a cake. Be careful not to burn yourself on the oven. I'll be back in a while. The front café needs a lot of help, so I'm going to go help them. Got it?"

Kisshu nodded obediently, then questioned, "I thought the long-haired guy in the suit did all the cooking here." He was, of course, referring to Keiichiro.

"He's out, getting more supplies, because we're already running low," Ichigo answered, then said before leaving the boy to his own devices, "Don't do anything stupid."

"Aye aye, Momomiya-sensei!" He posed again, this time soluting.

Ichigo had a feeling that her last request was in vain.

---

And she was proven right a little over fifteen minutes later.

Everyone's favorite catgirl had finally relaxed a little as she attended calmly to each table. Without that green-haired alien pestering her, and even doing some of her work, she felt better. Maybe it was even a good thing he came!

But what happened next made Ichigo mentally slap herself silly.

Kisshu managed to make a cake _explode_.

First, there was a resounding BOOM, then the café's smoke alarms started blaring. Little children began crying, customers flocked out of the building. Ryou yelled, Retasu panicked, Pudding grabbed for an extinguisher, and Ichigo stormed to the eye of the storm: the kitchen.

"KISSHU!" she immediately screamed upon arrival. With a distressed expression, Kisshu watched flames from the oven dance about. "Don't just stand there, idiot!"

The fire continued to grow bigger, so Ichigo had to wade through a sea of smoke to grab the dumbfounded boy and reel him out. Pudding charged into the room in a football player-like manner and began to spray with the extinguisher. The disaster was gradually defeated, and everyone permitted themselves a sigh of relief.

But then came the real "fire".

Ichigo turned and shot Kisshu what was perhaps the iciest glare ever to touch her features.

"How is this even possible?" she demanded threateningly. "You made the cake explode AND catch on fire! I left you to help, and you just caused more trouble. Gosh, I swear, Kisshu, you are so—"

Her assult ceased when she realized the same eerily blank expression he was wearing a few minutes ago was still in place.

"Kisshu." His eyes lifted to meet hers, but they were empty... for a moment. Then then began to fill with guilt. His mournful face extinguished Ichigo's anger faster than Pudding had extinguished the fire.

"I..." His head lowered. "I'm sorry... I don't know what happened, but I just... I just wanted to help..."

The mew mew pat him on the shoulder, her own guilt starting to cultivate. His trembling pouty lip did nothing to allay her guilt. "Ahh, ah, it's okay...! Don't worry. No one was hurt, so that's what matters, and it was an accident..."

Kisshu immediately snapped back into his regular, upbeat mood. Pudding couldn't help but wonder if he wasn't just a drama queen as she stood by, watching the conversation take place. Either way, Ichigo fell for it.

Humph. Well. Back to work.

---

After scolding his colleague briefly for setting the building on fire, Pai returned to his chair in the corner of the café. Everything slowly wound back up to its regular pace, and he watched as customers shyly returned and the mews worked to tidy up. His eyes remained fixed on one of the mews in particular; the one with bright, blue eyes and long, green hair...

He felt so shameless about indulging his love for watching the shy one at work. Not even a small prick of guilt. This was the reason he had decided to spend his spontaneous day off at Café Mew Mew. To see Retasu.

She had such a petite, endearing way of carrying herself. She was, in every sense, moé, although Pai did not know this phrase, so he stuck with "cute".

Pai's only wish right now was that she would continue to fail in realizing that he was watching, so he could continue to watch and think about her without remorse... but a certain red-haired cat girl did.

And the discovery intrigued her quite a bit...

---

Notes: When students misbehave, it's not that uncommon for the teacher to make him/her stand up in class. I think it's just meant to make the trouble-maker feel ashamed.

Also, moé is a Japanese slang term, usually used in the anime/manga fandom. It's short for "moeru", literally meaning "budding" (like budding with desire). It's difficult to define in just a few sentences, so if you want to know more, I suggest you go to Wikipedia and search for "moe (slang)".


End file.
